Why do we have to have giclee on canvas?

wright1769

As a customer of Bay Photo apart from my SmugMug account, I know that they make the finest canvas prints by printing on Kodak Lustre, peeling away the backing, and adhering it to canvas on a wood stretcher frame. Then they put a varnish on up to lock up the image.

They do have the giclee-on-canvas option, but I've never used it, and never want to. People want genuine prints, not inkjet sprays. Curious why SmugMug chose to offer the giclee at all.

Why can't SmugMug offer Bay's print-bonded-to-canvas option? Any plans to do so?

Sam

I have looked at this post several times, and tried to come up with a response that was less than book length.

I hate to jump on a new guy, but you sound like someone with little experience or knowledge.

There are many ways to present a photographic image. You may prefer one way, but that dosen't diminish the validity of other choices.

You seem to be denigrating ink jet prints. Did you know that high end pigmented ink prints have a greater color gamet then traditional chemical prints? Did you know they are rated for greater longevity? Did you know that you can print your image on a very large variety of different art and photo papers?

Just like there is no one best camera, there is no one best way to reproduce a photograph.

I really recommend you open what appears to be a closed mind and do some research. Talk to some fine art photographers. Go look at prints produced on a large format pigmented ink printer. Look at the various types of media available.

Check out Marc Munches website.

Open your mind.

Sam

wright1769

Sam,

Your own preference for inkjet aside, I am left with no answer to my original question, which I find rather reasonable:

Why can't SmugMug offer Bay's print-bonded-to-canvas option? Any plans to do so?

You are implicitly defending the restriction of canvassed prints to inkjet-only --- would you care to offer a defense of that position?

My customers have no interest in inkjet prints, and many art buyers shrink from the very word "giclee" because it is largely a fraudulent process used in the non-photographic fine art world. People buy giclee while on holiday in Paris, come home, find that their print is a low-quality mass production, swear never to purchase giclee again, &c.

Its aesthetic deficiencies or glories, of course, are for another thread.

But all of that quite aside, I'm merely wondering why SmugMug only offers giclee canvas and not bonded canvas, when Bay has been producing the latter for a long while. I suspect you'd do better getting along on the Internet if you didn't impute ill will and hidden meanings to every innocent query.

Andy

wright1769 wrote:

Sam,

Your own preference for inkjet aside, I am left with no answer to my original question, which I find rather reasonable:



You are implicitly defending the restriction of canvassed prints to inkjet-only --- would you care to offer a defense of that position?

My customers have no interest in inkjet prints, and many art buyers shrink from the very word "giclee" because it is largely a fraudulent process used in the non-photographic fine art world. People buy giclee while on holiday in Paris, come home, find that their print is a low-quality mass production, swear never to purchase giclee again, &c.

Its aesthetic deficiencies or glories, of course, are for another thread.

But all of that quite aside, I'm merely wondering why SmugMug only offers giclee canvas and not bonded canvas, when Bay has been producing the latter for a long while. I suspect you'd do better getting along on the Internet if you didn't impute ill will and hidden meanings to every innocent query.

Thanks for the suggestion, we'll look into it. We'll likely do this down the road when we add add-ons to prints.

wright1769

Andy wrote:

Thanks for the suggestion, we'll look into it. We'll likely do this down the road when we add add-ons to prints.

Brilliant. Thanks, Andy. Bay's lustre-on-canvas product is excellent; do a few test orders and you'll see.

Sam

wright1769,

I will try to clarify a little. I have no interest in having a watering contest. Communicating via the internet / written word can be somewhat imprecise losing intent and nuance.

Your original question was two part. One why does Smugmug offer a giclee print at all, and second why isn't Smugmug offering the photo pressed into canvas option.

I can't comment on the second that's for Andy who has responded. I was trying address your first question with why I think they are offering prints from large format pigmented ink printers. These printers offer options not available using a more traditional chemical process. They have some technical advantages. They offer additional creative options. In short there are many legitimate reasons for producing a print using this technology. Many (many if not most) professional photographers especially fine art photographers offer and use this technology as one of the tools in their box.

I believe one would be unreasonably limiting their options by not at least taking a good look at this technology.

"You are implicitly defending the restriction of canvassed prints to inkjet-only --- would you care to offer a defense of that position?"

I never meant to imply that there is a deliberate not offering the paper on canvas option. Smugmug doesn't offer everything that Bay has. They made the choice. I don't have the official reason. They don't consult with me on those issues. I have nothing to defend.

I think the paper photo pressed into canvas looks great, but I believe there is a bigger market for direct pigmented ink printing on canvas.
"People want genuine prints, not inkjet sprays."

I have a hard time understanding why a chemical print would be genuine and an ink jet print would not be an genuine print.

"My customers have no interest in inkjet prints,

That may or may not be true, I have no way of substantiating this statement.

and many art buyers shrink from the very word "giclee"

That I believe. I tend to shrink from the term myself.

"I suspect you'd do better getting along on the Internet if you didn't impute ill will and hidden meanings to every innocent query."

I have no intent with spreading ill will While I don't always express myself the best way, I don't have any hidden meanings.

It appears to me you are closed minded about a technology that through the maturing process has gained wide acceptance. My intent was to perhaps get you take another look at this. You choice.

Sam

Traces of Texas

Sam: I didn't take Wright's original post the same way you did at all.